Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has launched a fierce public rebuttal towards The New York Instances, accusing the publication of producing Worry, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) by insinuating a big private or enterprise connection between him and Tianying “Sky” He, an attendee of the current Washington D.C. dinner selling pro-Trump meme cash.
The dispute erupted right now as CZ shared non-public reporter inquiries on his X account, vehemently denying any substantive ties to Sky He or his challenge, LuckyFuture, whereas ridiculing the premise of the New York Instances’ questions.
“FUD within the Making”
In response to Zhao, the complete NY Instances inquiry explicitly asked: “Does Tianying He have any private or household reference to CZ or He Ye? And does Tianying He’s firm, LuckyFuture, have any reference to Binance?”
The reporter famous that Sky He includes a photograph with Zhao on his X profile, interacts with him on-line, and infrequently refers to him as “大表哥” (dà biǎogé), translated as “massive cousin.”
CZ framed these questions as baseless and constructed on unfavourable assumptions resulting from a scarcity of proof, pointedly asking:
“How determined do you must be to make up the story above? Or are you being paid to smear?”
The ex-Binance CEO sarcastically invited his followers to “see FUD within the making,” earlier than systematically dismantling the implied connections. He clarified that he solely adopted Sky after seeing the Trump dinner attendee’s put up that includes a BNB Chain emblem from Could 2024, stressing that he hadn’t recognized him earlier than then.
Moreover, CZ acknowledged that he solely turned conscious of Sky’s challenge, LuckyFuture, after he himself made a public put up about perpetual decentralized exchanges, prompting Sky to succeed in out.
The 48-year-old additionally denied ever discussing Trump or U.S. issues with Sky. He defined that the “massive cousin” reference was nothing greater than a standard time period of respect and casual closeness inside the huge Chinese language-speaking crypto group, not a literal familial declare, humorously noting he took “600 selfies in sooner or later in Token Dubai alone,” with many in these communities utilizing the nickname.
A Sample of Combating “Damaging” Reporting
This newest pushback comes simply weeks after Zhao went toe-to-toe with the Wall Road Journal over claims that he acted as a “fixer” for Donald Trump’s World Liberty Monetary (WLF) in arranging abroad authorities conferences.
Earlier than that, the identical outlet printed a narrative alleging the crypto entrepreneur had held talks with representatives of the Trump household over the potential for their investing in Binance.US. The WSJ report linked this to his pursuit of a presidential pardon following a responsible plea for violating U.S. anti-money laundering legal guidelines, which noticed him imprisoned for 4 months and barred from managing Binance.
Following these stories, CZ confirmed on Could 8, 2025, that he had formally utilized for clemency from President Trump by his authorized group, citing the top of state’s pardon of BitMEX founders (who additionally pleaded responsible to Financial institution Secrecy Act violations) as precedent.
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